Wednesday 30 November 2022
That's Food and Drink: Speciality Flour Miller, Matthews Cotswold Flour C...
That's Food and Drink: Speciality Flour Miller, Matthews Cotswold Flour C...: Matthews Cotswold Flour, Britain's leading speciality flour producer, is marking and celebrating World Soil Day in a unique and special ...
That's Food and Drink: Suckies from The Collective Dairy are fantastic! A...
That's Food and Drink: Suckies from The Collective Dairy are fantastic! A...: The Collective Dairy are those wonderful folks who thought up the recipe and make Suckies. What are Suckies? They are fantastic yoghurt drin...
Royal Mail strikes hit Christmas delivery dates. Please check here
ParcelHero says many stores have now pulled back their order dates for Christmas deliveries. Wise shoppers are abandoning expensive express services while strikes threaten to further disrupt deliveries. This has led to some dramatic changes in retailers’ final order dates to ensure gifts don’t miss the big day.
ParcelHero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks M.I.L.T., says: "Many of our favourite stores have woken up and smelt the eggnog and are rapidly dragging back their final order dates for Christmas. Already, stores like Boohoo, Currys, HP, Paul Smith and PC World have pulled back their last order dates by several days.
"There are two main reasons why retailers are revising their final order dates. Firstly, planned strikes affecting traditional postal deliveries just before Christmas could throw final order dates into disarray. Secondly, last-minute express and next-day deliveries can cost at least a fiver extra compared to standard delivery options. Cash-strapped Brits, facing higher bills and raging inflation, simply don’t have the money to burn on expensive delivery options.
"Many retailers will also be trying to save money by slashing Christmas delivery times. They pay their delivery partners extra for faster service. That’s normally a worthwhile expense at Christmas, as these faster options can give them an advantage over their competitors. But this year’s Austerity Christmas will see shoppers spend an estimated £4bn less than in 2021. Stores will feel the impact of this reduced spending and cannot afford to waste money. As struggling retailers Joules and Wilco will confirm, times are hard.
"Here’s our list of Responsible Retailers who have pulled back their Christmas final order dates:
Boohoo: was 23 December, now 21 December
Cath Kidston: was 22 December, now 21 December
Currys: was 23 December, now 18 December
HP: was 21 December, now 15 December
Paul Smith: was 23 December, now 19 December
PC World: was 23 December, now 21 December
Selfridges: was 24 December for London postcodes, now 23 December
The White Company: was 23 December, now 22 December
"Given the current strain on delivery services, we won’t be surprised if even more retailers pull back their final order dates as Christmas nears. That’s why our continually updated Christmas deadlines tool is so useful for keeping shoppers in the know with their favourite retailers’ final order dates."
To check the easy-to-use retailers’ final order and final mailing dates tool, see: https://www.parcelhero.com/events/christmas-gifts-delivery
(Image courtesy of John Liles and Pixabay)
Aldi serves up fantastic festive finger foods fiesta!
For a centrepiece to wow even the most scroogie of guests the NEW Let’s Party Garlic Doughball Christmas Tree Bread (£2.69, 280g) is a festive shaped doughball that is sure to make an Instagramable highlight. Covered with a smooth garlic spread and sprinkled with parsley, encourage guests to get stuck in and tear off a portion for a tree-mendous delight. Available in store from 9th December.
Or for a sharing snack with considerable style, the Specially Selected Cracker (£3.99, 400g) is available in stores from 30th November. This cracking pastry is hand finished in the shape of a Christmas cracker, wrapped in butter enriched pastry, filled with either Wensleydale, cheddar cheese and soft cheese with cranberries, or pulled pork and pancetta with cranberries, and a paprika and poppy seed sprinkle. (I want the cheese one!)
A British picky bit staple with a festive twist, guests can also enjoy the Breaded Chicken Christmas Trees (£2.99, 320g) from 25th November. These tasty bites are coated in a crunchy golden breadcrumb.
Or, perfect for a classic treat, why not try the NEW supersized Specially Selected Extra Large Christmas Sausage Roll (£3.99, 700g). At 24cm long the roll holds a succulent British pork sausage meat slathered in a choice of either a sweet chilli chutney or a cranberry sauce, encased in flaky puff pastry. Decorated with a pastry star for a festive feature, this favoured British delicacy is the perfect centrepiece addition to any Christmas party.
These decorative delights will be joining Aldi’s huge range of brand-new party food hitting Aldi shelves this Christmas season.
Brighton Perfume is a breath of fresh air in the perfume industry. And it's vegan
Then you need to check out Brighton Perfume.
Brighton Perfume is a vegan perfumery existing in an open kitchen blending, atomising and symbiosing small batch natural fragrance.
Pao Pincerna has have developed a new contemporary way of making plant-based perfumes with a vision to revolutionise the industry. Born out the ideology of the 70s and 90s fashion and music scene to create a new golden age of contemporary perfume.
Perfumery is a science, a closed world of heritage; Did you know? There are fewer perfumers in the world than astronauts.
Pao Pincerna said: "I created my own machine to spin vegan elixirs in oil not alcohol, so I don't need to filtrate using animal products and don't have any wastage at all. Everything put into the perfume ends up in the final product.
"It is called 'The Attarator' and uses waves programmed into a raspberry PI to create clear eco-friendly plant-based perfumes. I make the freshest perfume in the world, and am the most eco/sustainable perfume company in the world.
OUR COLLECTIONS
"I have launched 22 new Vegan Perfumes in three collections:
MODE
Front Up Perfume for Fashion Nova’s
FREEDOM, DEBAUCHERY, DISSENT
Is your Perfume #notuptoparfum?
GET IN THE MODE
8 Sassy French Style Oil Based Vegan Perfumes
HEDONIST
Perfume for all Non-Conformists
BOMBASTIC HEADY SCENTS. DRIVES YOU CRAZY
10 Persian Style Oil Based Vegan Perfumes Pushing the Boundaries
DAPPER
Superlative Style with a Modern Twist
SOUL RESONATING
Six classics of British popular culture revived over the tapestry of music
UNLOCK YOUR PERFUME DNA!
"Brighton Perfume is not reminiscent of the past but forward thinking whilst noting the fact that perfume is nostalgic, the scent of your mother, father or first partner will bring back cerebral memories that make you feel alive and connected to a lifetime of dreams."
To learn more and to place your orders please visit https://brightonperfume.co.uk.
Looking for neat secret Santa presents or quirky stocking fillers? The Gluttonous Gardener is for you!
Sick of socks? Bored with bath salts? Thew Gluttonous Gardener has the answer for you!
From glorious Growbars packed with seeds for the perfect herb and flower gardens, to letterbox-sized seed kits for dog lovers and adventurous cooks, The Gluttonous Gardener's range of plant-related gifts and presents really does have something for everyone.
A spokesperson for The Gluttonous Gardener said: "We've been using recyclable packing and sustainable products for the best part of three decades. And we have always believed that the best gift is the one that keeps on giving.
"All our Growbars are priced at £12.50, and seed kits start from £18 excluding delivery."
Visit glut.co.uk to place your orders.
How to avoid career suicide at the office Christmas Party
From drinking too much or making inappropriate comments to a work colleague, it’s all too easy to turn a fun night out into career suicide.
Sue Andrews, HR expert at KIS Finance has been looking at the best ways to enjoy your office Christmas party without putting your job at risk.
Sue says: “Office parties fall between a casual and professional place that can be hard to navigate. Everyone wants to enjoy a party, so if you follow a few simple guidelines, you can do this without running into problems and regrets.”
The number one rule – don’t get drunk
Pace yourself! The office Christmas party is still a professional environment, so drinking too much and losing your inhibitions is never a good idea. Saying or doing something you might later regret can have a lasting negative impact on your professional reputation, and you don’t want to come to your boss’s attention for the wrong reasons.
Having one too many could cause you to share too much personal information you later come to regret, or even repeating something confidential that could really land you in professional trouble.
Disagreements that simmered during the year can bubble over when those involved have had a few too many drinks and you may find you react out of character when your inhibitions are lowered. It’s not unknown for arguments to erupt or even become physical, which could land you in very hot water with not only your employer but possible the police too.
Telling an inappropriate joke is also a good way to be remembered for all the wrong reasons. When you’ve had too much to drink you may forget your audience and end up embarrassing yourself, particularly if you tell it to your boss.
If you supervise other staff you may also want to keep a clear head as it’s a bit difficult to retain your team’s respect if they have seen you staggering around at the party the night before!
Don’t flirt with colleagues
Even if your feelings are reciprocated, this isn’t the time to share them as it’s likely to lead to embarrassment for you both. If the other person doesn’t feel the same way, they could find the situation quite stressful and this could lead to serious consequences. You could even find yourself facing a claim of harassment and a trip to the HR department the next day.
Follow the dress code
It is really important to take account of the location of the party and the type of culture at your company. If it is a formal sit-down meal, turning up in a clubbing outfit will look really inappropriate. If there is no dress code issued, then speak to colleagues and get an idea of the type of outfits that others are wearing. Whilst it is important to be yourself, you also don’t want to look out of place or be remembered for the wrong reasons.
Don’t talk shop
Don’t be the work bore that everyone wants to avoid. Get to know colleagues better on a human level by talking to them about their interests or holiday plans, but definitely avoid office gossip. It’s never a good idea to be found gossiping about colleagues, as it’s sure to backfire on you plus you never know who is listening.
Mix with others outside of your immediate work team
Treat the party as a good opportunity to widen your network and strengthen working relationships with colleagues by getting to know them better as individuals. You may find that you make some useful connections with people that you might otherwise not have had the opportunity to meet and get to know a little better.
Be careful about uploading images to social media
Some companies ban the use of social media at work events in order to protect staff from embarrassing incidents. Whilst it may seem fun to film your drunken colleague on the dancefloor, you could find yourself in trouble if it causes embarrassment for the individual or bad publicity for the company. You could even face allegations of bullying by a colleague, who wasn’t pleased to wake up the next day to see their antics on social media.
Spending all evening on your phone will be seen as bad manners anyway, so put your phone away for the evening and enjoy being present.
Don’t leave early
Unless you have a genuine reason, such as the babysitter only being available until 9.30, it’s polite to stay for the majority of the evening. Just putting in a short guest appearance will be noticed, and you risk looking ungrateful or that you think you have better things to do. Either way it won’t look good to your boss.
Not showing up
If you have said you’ll attend then its bad manners to bail on the night. Not going will make you appear like you’re not a team player and don’t appreciate that the company has put the effort and money into arranging an event. Even if you don’t think they’ll notice, Managers will usually notice who didn’t attend.
Say "thank you" at the end of the night
Just a simple thank you at the end of the night or the next day to the organiser, will be greatly appreciated. It takes time and effort, not to say money to put on a Christmas party so it’s worth a quick acknowledgement to your boss to show that you recognise this and, if you are part of a large team, it’s a good opportunity for you to remind them who you are.
If you stick to these easy tips you can enjoy the party without any fear that you will wake up the next day without a job!
Full report: https://www.kisbridgingloans.co.uk/business-guides/how-to-avoid-career-suicide-at-the-office-christmas-party
KIS Finance are an independent finance broker specialising in bridging finance, development finance, commercial mortgages, equity release, and secured loans.
(Image courtesy of Sheila Santillan from Pixabay)
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